Understanding the structure and properties of geological formations can reduce the cost of drilling wells for oil and gas exploration. Measurements made in a borehole (i.e., downhole measurements) are typically performed to attain this understanding, to identify the composition and distribution of material that surrounds the measurement device downhole. For example, some measurements involve the acquisition and processing of electromagnetic (EM) data.
In state-of-the-art workflows, EM data are calibrated, processed, and inverted in separate procedures. Thus, errors in one of these procedures can easily affect others in the same processing sequence. Given these circumstances, iterative (i.e., cycles of successive) workflows may be employed for calibrating, processing, and inverting EM data, to reduce the effect of such errors.